Sixteen NYC Tax Assessors Arrested

LARRY NEUMEISTER

Published 8:00 pm, Sunday, February 24, 2002

Associated Press Writer

Sixteen tax assessors were arrested Monday for allegedly taking part in a 35-year plot to accept bribes and cheat the city out of hundreds of millions of dollars in property tax revenues, officials said.

An indictment accused the assessors of accepting bribes for at least 35 years to alter the assessed values of more than 500 properties worth a total of $8 billion.

"These folks sold their office and sold out the people of New York by taking bribes," U.S. Attorney James Comey said. "In doing so, they undermined a bedrock of this city's finances _ a fair and honest tax assessment system."

Nearly half of the tax assessors in Manhattan, as well as two alleged bribe payers, were snared in the alleged plot that led to an indictment accusing the defendants of racketeering, bribery and fraud.

Seventeen of the suspects were arrested Monday and an another was expected to surrender Tuesday on charges of taking or giving more than $10 million in bribes to alter the assessed values of commercial properties.

The scheme has cost the city about $160 million in lost tax revenues since 1997, Comey said. The indictment sought the forfeiture of the lost revenues and an additional $10 million allegedly obtained through bribes.

Twenty percent of the city's budget comes from property tax revenue and the loss of taxes probably cheated the public of new schools, better roads and more services, FBI Assistant Director Barry Mawn said.

Keith Schwam, a spokesman for the city Department of Investigation, said the corruption may lead to reassessments of the 500 properties and a "broad review" extending to other properties.

The indictment alleged that the assessors accepted bribes ranging from expensive meals to payments of several thousand dollars.

Mawn said the scheme threatened to "result in an erosion of confidence and an increase in cynicism of the public towards its government."

"Much like we discover in a lot of criminal activities, here everybody was getting a piece of the pie. They were protecting one another," Mawn said. "It was kept very quiet. Everybody was benefitting."

He said it was reassuring that the city and federal government worked together to stopp the scheme.

Authorities said one of the suspects accused of paying bribes to tax assessors was Albert Schussler, a major property manager and owner who had allegedly taken part in the plot since 1967.

Schussler was released on $250,000 bail after a court appearance Monday. His lawyer, Stephen Kaufman, declined to comment.